Early reviews from average readers
I am laughing my way all the way through this foolishness It's a lot of fun to read this Wow What a great surprise ending. Took my breath--didn't see it coming Good book
-Peggy Marion Ryals
English teacher, Myrtle Beach
How true to life this is This could have come from our morning coffee shop get togethers I don't know Coot Harrell personally, but I know several guys just like him The "boys" came from my home town, I think, and they are still there What a great way to spend several hours.
-Alan Hendry
Caf

Ever wondered what waffle like 'accountability', 'site of contestation' or 'The National Democratic Revolution' really means? Here, in an irreverent nutshell, is your answer. The Ranter's Guide to South Africa pinpoints and defines some of the most overused and abused words, acronyms, piffle and jargon that noisily bamboozle our daily life. It is a satirical dictionary for our times, encompassing politics, business, culture, sport, history and that relentless, buzzing swarm of cliches that assault us every day. At last, comic relief is at hand in this indispensible A-Z digest with its short and sharp definitions that will puncture the bombast, bias and rampant populism circulating on all sides. Keep this subversive manual close by, it could save your sanity ...

Roa Wioz (1882-1937), the locally-admired though otherwise little-known Zumorgian translator, spent seventeen years of his miserable life (when he wasn't tending to his beloved goats) translating Lewis Carroll's classic "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" into Zumorigenflit and transposing it into u ian culture. Sadly, u was swallowed up by the Soviet Union in 1947. Most of its citizens were either purged (lined up and summarily shot when they refused to combine their goats into a communal herd) or transported to the Gulag for political re-education and attitude adjustment. All cultural artifacts were systematically destroyed and most Zumorigenflit books were burned as part of the Soviet effort to obliterate u, along with any memory of it. The only known present-day u ian survivors of The Great u Purge (other than any possible survivors of the Gulag, whose descendants might conceivably live in Siberia) are now toothless old women, whose parents fled with them as infants from u to Transjordan the night of the purge. Today they live (if you can call it that) in a squalid refugee camp on the desert outskirts of Amman surrounded by very unhappy and angry displaced Palestinians. Some of these u ian refugees are still able to speak a little Zumorigenflit, though few of them can read it. For those interested in such esoteric things, "Alo k ujy Gigio Soagenli y" was first published by the Itadabukan Press in the capital city of Sprutni ovyurt in 1919. The city, which was mistakenly thought to be a German forward supply area, was literally flattened and burned to the ground by Royal Air Force saturation bombing in 1943, and all that remains of it are a few remnants of the ancient Palace's foundations and a gigantic reinforced concrete statue of Joseph Stalin, whose face has been shattered by what was probably machine gun target practice. The original story has here been updated to modern times, as if this strange, harsh, and dangerous land still existed in the modern world. It doesn't, except in my imagination and that of Mahendra Singh, whose heart swells with the Song of the Goat. -- Byron W. Sewell

Were there not some amid all that fashionable throng in whom ideals of purity and true womanhood lived-- some who cared enough for the sacredness of real love to cry upon this hollow mockery that was being used to ensnare the simple, honest soldier? There was only one, and she was at that moment entering the drawing room for the purpose of being presented to the general. Need I name her.

Humorist and wordsmith extraordinaire Matthew Goldberg shares over two hundred and fifty fake words for others to learn and use as they attempt to heal themselves from "carpool tunnel syndrome, " battle strange hankerings for good old-fashioned "Talibanjo" music, and watch helplessly as their dogs conk out from "barkolepsy."Goldberg was unintentionally born into a family that has always used words creatively and he relies on his internal artistic fire to share both one-word and multiple-word entries, called wordapods. While introducing such words and phrases as "boredello, anthropomurphic, " and "hit-and-shun" accident, Goldberg includes definitions, sample sentences, ways to master the word, and trivia that will both entertain and inform. Goldberg interviews dozens of fascinating characters that help define the words including Vegestarian Mars Greenman, Pastafari Scholar Tosh Kingsmon, and baseball fan and original "boob bird" Clara Heatley.Meant for the creative word enthusiast, the budding "semantician, " and for anyone with a good sense of humor, "Wordapodia: Volume One" provides a unique compilation of new words, fun facts, and observations. So, hold your breath, grab on to your "caribooster seat, " and get ready for a wild ride through one man's imagination.

Imagine an ordinary life, neither very happy nor particularly miserable until "a simple gift" changed everything. Now you are never able to buy regular gasoline without paying high-test prices. This happened to me, and I had to uncover the secret behind this gypsy curse. This is my life... I hope it is never yours

This genuine imitation of Sarah Palins diary, fabricated by a bona fide satirist, reveals spurious behind-the-scenes happenings with all your favorite mavericks from the extended Palin familyTodd, Bristol, Piper, Willow, Trig, Levi Johnston, John McCain, and Joe the Plumber. Theyre all here and more! Inside youll find the ersatz adventures of Americas favorite hockey mom, including such fallacious details as . . . How Bristol revealed her little secret. Going rogue with Joe the Plumber. Books the former Governor would love to ban. How to speak Maverick. Why John McCain chose to run with Miss Wasilla. Waterboarding Tina Fey. What happened to all those ritzy clothes. The concession speech she never gave. Campaign slogans for 2012. Will this laugh-out-loud lampoon of Sarah Palins intimate story give you an enlightening peek inside the most astonishing mind in American politics? You betcha! About the Author: Joey Green, a former contributing editor to the National Lampoon, is the author of dozens of books, including Selling Out, The Zen of Oz, Monica Speaks, You Know Youve Reached Middle Age If..., The Jolly President (or Letters George Bush Never Read), and Famous Failures. He has appeared on Good Morning America, The View, and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, and he has been profiled in the New York Times and People. He lives in Los Angeles.

Uncensored.

Unrestrained.

Un-politically correct.

It's a little-known fact that President Bush -- known to his Instant Messenger buddies as "Kickass43" -- has logged almost as much time chatting online as he has clearing brush at Crawford.

Now this hilarious collection of imaginary online correspondence between the POTUS and pals sheds light and empathy on W's tumultuous second term in office. Whether it's dodging Harriet Miers after the fallout of her Supreme Court nomination, hosting a live online chat with the nation's schoolchildren to disastrous effect, or the surprising late-night alliance with Bill Clinton ("Ladeezman42") because both wish to keep Hillary out of the White House, you'll never look at politics the same way again.Gleefully poking fun at political figures on both sides of the divide, "The President's Secret IMs" is wickedly clever, deliciously irreverent, and in the words of Kickass43, "ttly awesum" and "gr8." Srsly.

Poe: Pelted, Pounded, Pummeled and Pulverized is a unique collection of eighteen classic Edgar Allan Poe short stories that have been creatively rewritten and satirized into adult parody form featuring adult content and language, and the work is the thirty-fifth book of author Jay Dubya (John Weissner). When Jay Dubya was a New Jersey public school English teacher, during his thirty-four-year classroom career, he often enjoyed teaching and reading the influential literature of Edgar Allen Poe to his sometimes-enlightened middle and high school students. Even though Poe (1809-1849) had died at a very young age, he still managed, remarkably, to write and publish more than nine-hundred pages of imaginative short stories and awe-inspiring poems. In addition to being a superb writer, Poe was also an excellent editor and literary critic, and is widely regarded as one of the most important authors in American literature. The now-esteemed writer is often referred to as "the father of the American short story" and as "the inventor of the detective story." Edgar married his thirteen-year-old cousin Virginia Clemm and made a very modest living as a writer and as a newspaper journalist. Poe had a nasty temper, took drugs as painkillers, and because of his mercurial disposition was unable to keep a job for any length of time. In 1847 Virginia died of tuberculosis and Poe, underfed, pale and gaunt-looking, passed away two years later. Poe's detective stories "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" and "The Purloined Letter" made him famous in addition to his classic horror tales "The Pit and the Pendulum," "The Masque of the Red Death," "The Cask of Amontillado," and the popular but eerie epic "The Tell Tale Heart."

You don't know how lucky you are. You have a Computer Geek in your realm. You have that Special Someone who is always there for you, for free, to fix, well, just about anything and everything that happens to your computer. They are your personal "always-on-call" computer "fixers;" your personal helper with All Things Computer.

The world around you is a dangerous place. It's teeming with savages, thugs, angry toddlers, and disgruntled clowns. And every one of them is secretly mulling a scenario that ends with them kicking you square in the junk. What do you do if you want to take on The Batman and live to brag about it to your kids? What do you do if a rabid alligator picks a fight with your little sister? What do you do if the beloved star of "Forrest Gump" tells you to "shut the hell up" in front of a huge crowd?
You read this book. It offers simple, effective instructions for beating up zombies, robots, co-workers--anything. The only limits are your imagination... and your habit of not following through on things, and possibly your uncoordinated, at times comically frail body.

A hilarious parody for anyone who's going to college, been in college, thinking about college, or knows someone in college.

Sportsman. Lover. Bon viviant. Cad. Ross O'Carroll-Kelly is many things to many people. But ten years after he lifted the Leinster Schools Senior Cup, Ireland's most beloved rogue remains one of its most misunderstood figures. His accomplishments on the rugby field - and in the bedroom - remain the stuff of legend, but the truth about him remains hidden by the accretion of myth. Now, for the first time, the lid is lifted on the enigma that is South Dublin's most eligible married man. In more than a hundred interviews with his family and friends - those who've loved him, hated him and slept with him - the first ever composite portrait of the Celtic Tiger's most famous cub emerges. From the mother who didn't want him to the father who wanted him too much, from the friends who shared his misadventures to the women who shared his bed - or, failing that, a back alley or bus shelter - this searingly honest biography fills in all the blanks in the life of the self-styled Cock of Foxrock. 'One-liners are as sharp as ever' Irish Independent 'You'll look at Ross O'Carroll-Kelly in a whole new light ... highly enjoyable' Sunday Tribune 'Always a funny, sharp and humane writer' Irish Times

THE TAKING TREE (the unauthorized parody that is absolutely, positively, completely not THE GIVING TREE) is a hilarious twist on the Shel Silverstein classic. This humor book is no touching salute to goodness and generosity. Instead this laugh-a-minute satire is a scathing indictment of those who just take and take and take. That means you, trees

This cleverly titled BLANK BOOK is a perfect gift for tickling funny bones of believers and skeptics alike The 8 1/2" x 5 1/2" trade paperback features 90 pages of quality white paper completely uncontaminated by printing (Save for headers and footers.) It's perfect for doodling, making notes, folding origami, or ranting about the other side. In emergencies, it also doubles as toilet paper. (Softness and efficacy not guaranteed for this use ) As an added bonus, if you buy today, you will receive an extra 7 pages of blank white paper bound in with the rest Ninety-seven blank pages in all (Along with three pages of pesky titles and legal information, for a not-so-grand total of 100 pages.) The book comes complete with a glossy, full-color cover suitable for framing. The back cover features sarcastic copy sure to drive home the paperback's satirical intent. Be sure to look for other BLANK BOOKS in the From the Secret Files... ser

"The definitive guide for injecting humor into the workplace. This is the ultimate step-by-step manual, designed to give you control over your work culture. With humor, laughter, and play, you can create a work environment that will attract the very best people and coax the very best performances out of them." KARYN BUXMAN, President, Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor, and Publisher, The Journal of Nursing Jocularity. This is your manual for infusing humor into your business, corporation, college, or university to create a fun work environment. You are probably laughing right now and thinking: Fun in my organization? You must be kidding. You do not know the people I work with. They end sentences with prepositions all the time. It is written expressly for corporate leaders, such as HR directors, managers, and trainers, and college administrators and faculty. Unlike available books on the topic, this one reveals 45 tips that are critical to the success of humor in the workplace and in the classroom, K-college: choosing the right stuff, delivering humor like a pro, practicing your performance, considering the most important characteristics of your audience, and creating an atmosphere conducive to fun. The author presents specific guidelines for setting standards for appropriate humor and also out-of-bounds offensive humor, such as put-downs, sarcasm, ridicule, and sexual content and innuendo. In these turbulent financial times, can you afford to ignore the bottom line? Humor can boost productivity, increase retention, improve recruitment, decrease absenteeism, improve morale, and decrease stress, tension, and anxiety, plus 20 other individual and relational benefits. It is a WIN-WIN proposition. A BONUS CHAPTER is also included on how to create TV, movie, and Broadway parodies you can use in meetings, workshops, team-building exercises, and teaching and training.

Herein lies an early draft of Shakespeare's 'MacBeth' recently discovered behind the wall of a public lavatory in London. In this draft (called 'That Scottish Play'), MacBeth disappears during a fishing excursion on Loch Ness after encountering a certain local monster.

A poor look-alike tinker named Max is then duped into assuming the role of the true MacBeth and must carry off the deception in both King Duncan's court and at home as the husband to Lady MacBeth. While Max struggles to maintain his own identity, plotters and schemers manipulate him toward their own ends.

So begins the most talked about comedy of the year.

'A veritable witches' brew of hilarious pandemonium. Outrageously funny and provocative.'
-"The Wurstof Times"

'The author parodies The Bard with reverential irreverence using every form of farce and satire, humor and wit imaginable. Viciously delicious and sublimely ridiculous.'
-"The Mortem Post"

'A looking glass adventure into a Pythonesque land of lunacy and bedlam. Devastatingly absurd and wickedly witty.'
-"The Disassociated Press"

John Bull is the personification of Great Britain (or at least of England). He was first created in 1712 by John Arbuthnot, and eventually became a common sight in British editorial cartoons of the 19th and early 20th centuries. John is a sort of British Everyman, endowed with common sense and good intentions, who likes a pint of beer. In his trip to the Fiscal Wonderland, John's frustrations with the bewildering nonsensicality of economic politics are made apparent by the author and illustrator. You don't need to be an expert in early twentieth-century British politics to enjoy John's adventures, though. The story's parody of Lewis Carroll's Wonderland books is still relevant and entertaining even a century later. Today's bankers and politicians seem not to have learned much from history. Regrettable as that is, at least Charles Geake and Francis Carruthers Gould can still make us laugh about it

Volume One of Grin Tails* For Children Whatever Age is the first in a series of books that adults and children will enjoy. In it, some of the classic children's stories are redone with an upbeat humorous twist. The new titles give us a clue, for example: Big Red Riding Hood, Ginger Ella, and The Three Little Chickens. Grin Tails* is not as much a laugh-out-loud book, as it is a chuckle and grin book. Even the title with it's spelling ("tails" instead of "tales") alerts us to the fact that something is a bit different here. Reminiscent of the old roadrunner and coyote cartoons with a kind of Far Side slant, this book should provide an enjoyable break for young and old. Thus, you and that kid on your lap should find Roy Rummler's latest creation a trip that brings an extra smile to your faces.

Get ready for the read of your life. Never before has a single book combined awesome vans, unicorns, Billy Joel, and erotic fiction in such a potent combination. A writing tour de force? Perhaps. A reading experience that will sear itself into your consciousness like a red-hot branding iron? Without question.

Comedian and basic cable superstar Michael Ian Black unleashes the full fury of his astonishing intellect in this collection of short comic essays. "My Custom Van" is a no-holds-barred assault to the funny bone that will literally beat you into submission with hilarity*.

How did he do it? How did he create such a fine anthology? Answer: With love. Michael opened his heart and used the magical power of love to write more than fifty thought-provoking essays like, "Why I Used a Day-Glo Magic Marker to Color My Dick Yellow," and "An Open Letter to the Hair Stylist Who Somehow Convinced Me to Get a Perm When I Was in Sixth Grade."

Maybe you think love is not a substitute for "good writing skills" and "spell check." Bull pucky! When it comes to writing books, love is the most powerful word processor of all.

Sounds pretty great, right? And yet...something is still holding you back from paying the full purchase price of this book. What is it? Perhaps you secretly believe you do not deserve a book this good. Nonsense -- you deserve this book and so much more. In fact, if Michael could have written you all the stars in the sky, that's what he would have done. But he couldn't do that, due to his lack of knowledge in the area of astronomy. So he wrote this book instead.

And this flap copy.

Enjoy.

* Michael Ian Black is not responsible for any actual injuries caused by reading this book.

Do you think that you know "The Situation"? Take the quiz and find out.Here's how to get your situation up to the level of the Situation
Listen, dawg. You're probably hitting the gym, doing your tanning, and picking up fresh laundry every day. And maybe you've had some success beating up the beat and creeping on chicks in the club. But do you really think your situation is where it needs to be? Be honest with yourself, bro.
This book here will take your game to a level thought unattainable, given your physical limitations (because we can't all look like Rambo, pretty much, with our shirt off). We start with GTL-the bedrock of life itself. And then we hit the GTL Remix-the rules for getting your personal grooming did. From there it's my guide to the Jersey Shore, battle plans for the club, a primer on grenades and wingmen, and tips for ridding yourself of all levels of clinger. Then I look at the big picture: how to cook the perfect lasagna, how to find a life partner, and how to deal with being one of the most famous people on the planet-which is guaranteed if you follow my advice.
This is the bible for Situation Nation. Read it, live it, and crush it.

As indicated by the title, "NUNS ON A CHAIN GANG ," this is a listing of over 300 wacko/humorous(sometimes irreverent) "stuff" that you NEVER- EVER see -- for example: "Preparation H" gift certificates All entries are the author's original and creative concepts. Illustrations are purposely not included, as the author encourages readers to imagine/ visualize each entry through their own mind's eye, thus making this an interactive, witty, tongue-in-cheek experience.

This cleverly titled BLANK BOOK is a perfect gift for tickling funny bones of believers and skeptics alike The 8 1/2" x 5 1/2" trade paperback features 90 pages of quality white paper completely uncontaminated by printing (Save for headers and footers.) It's perfect for doodling, making notes, folding origami, or ranting about the other side. In emergencies, it also doubles as toilet paper. (Softness and efficacy not guaranteed for this use ) As an added bonus, if you buy today, you will receive an extra 7 pages of blank white paper bound in with the rest Ninety-seven blank pages in all (Along with three pages of pesky titles and legal information, for a not-so-grand total of 100 pages.) The book comes complete with a glossy, full-color cover suitable for framing. The back cover features sarcastic copy sure to drive home the paperback's satirical intent. Be sure to look for other BLANK BOOKS in the From the Secret Files... ser

An unabridged, illustrated edition of Mark Twain's classic, to include over 50 drawings by Lester Ralph